terri910

awesome posts and even better memories shared by all...for me, its likely when I was on the Breakaway Haven, essentially a ship within a ship...Imagine being tended to every whim and leave all the care in the world to your butler and concierge...Heaven on the high seas!

I'm going to ask -- since we have never (and don't really anticipate ever) stayed in a haven suite -- what sort of whims and cares do the butler and concierge take care of?

I always feel as though we are fairly pampered on any cruise we take, but apparently there is a level up that I can't really imagine.

But.....we retired to Ecuador and remember being told, you can live like royalty on a tiny budget. And I think it is probably true....our problem is that apparently, my husband and I do not know how to live like royalty. Even when we have guardias in our condo to do things for us, we still usually do things for ourselves. I would make a lousy Queen. :D

It is now difficult to say which of our cruises we would term our "best cruise ever"

Up until 2015 & 2016, our 2007 12-day Mediterranean cruise was our best cruise ever. At that point, it was the longest cruise we'd ever taken, and was the first trip to Europe my husband and I had taken together (first trip to Europe for my husband). Until that cruise, I actually had never dreamed I would travel to Florence, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Rhodes, Ephesus, or Istanbul!! We were suddenly "in" all the photos we'd seen in history books and scenes from movies -- it was fascinating, amazing, unbelievable. Additionally, we had a group from our Roll Call that all took private shore excursions/tours together, and it was just the best, most friendly bunch of folks....we all just clicked! 10 Years later, and we are still friends and all still cruise as often as possible!

In 2015, we did our first Trans-Atlantic cruise....and that was pretty special, especially spending about a week in Barcelona before embarking on the cruise. We fell in love with Barcelona. The weather during that whole vacation was perfect -- even during the TA crossing! I loved that cruise because it made real my dream of crossing the Atlantic on a cruise ship.....a dream I'd had since I was a little girl, watching Cary Grant & Deborah Kerr falling in love in the movie "An Affair to Remember."

But, last year.....we did 3 cruises back to back....first a western Med, then a TA, then a Caribbean. 28 consecutive days cruising. Even though we'd already done a Med cruise, and a TA, and plenty of Caribbean cruises....that was special because...well, almost a whole month cruising!! Plus, we had such a great group we'd put together. The weather wasn't as great on these cruises, as the one in 2015, but still......28 days with someone else cooking, cleaning, making my bed, entertaining me. Heaven, if you ask me!

So.....those three cruises are clustered at the top of my list, all for slightly different reasons....now I'm hoping that the next cruises we've booked will be nudging their way to the top of my list! We are booked on 4 back-to-back-to-back-to-back cruises for a total of 47 consecutive days cruising. It will start in Venice and cruise the Adriatic, which we have never been to....new ports, new adventures, always special! Then a TA. Then a southern Caribbean to ports we've never been to. And then, a Panama Canal transit, which we also have never done. So, more days cruising than we've ever done, AND plenty of new ports. I won't be surprised if it goes to the top of the list!

We are booked on the NCL Star. Our most recent NCL crises have been on the Epic and the Jade.

We enjoyed all the cruises, but the scales tipped in favor of the Jade for us -- we liked the size and layout of the cabin much more than on the Jade. We also liked the main Dining Room on the Jade better than on the Epic.

I know that the Jade is smaller than the Epic, but to us, it made better use of it.

From what I've read, the Star is smaller than the Jade....I think the cabins look a bit smaller than the Jade. I haven't checked to see crew to passenger ratio on any of them....

We will be on the Star for something like 47 days, so I sure hope we like it! *L*

I'm mostly joking but I actually am curious as to whether or not I'll be able to hear anything. If I do I promise I will come back and rant about it. :)

*LOL*

If I can remember to, I will do the same! (But our next cruise is almost a year and a half away.... :( )

Actually, the worst behavior I ever saw on a cruise ship was not from a child. A 60-70 ish woman in the buffet on Carnival was eating right next to me. When she ate something she didn't like, she would spit it on the floor!

 

 

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:o:o:o:o

Ewwww.

Now for better or worse next cruise (33 days, yay!) instead of relaxing in our cabin I'm going to be obsessively listening to see if I can hear any footsteps. Thanks all! ;)

 

*LOL* You would spend time trying to find out if your hearing and the people outside your cabin door are exactly like someone else's?

Oh, dear! I hope you are able to get it back!

They are physiologically incapable of self control until the age of 14, and even after that it's minimal until they reach age 20!

Oh, most people are acutely....excruciatingly.....aware of the lack of self control. *LOL*

Have you ever been in Florida in August? Kinda hot and humid, mostly. I remember going into a restaurant -- air conditioned -- so nice! As we, and others, left that controlled environment and stepped outside, pretty much each and every person made a comment that sounded very much like a complaint, about ohmygod how hot and humid it was. Since they'd all been in the heat and humidity before they entered the restaurant, I can guarantee you that each person knew, intellectually, that it was going to be very hot and humid when they left the restaurant.

Just because something is the way it is, and you KNOW it is the way it is, doesn't make it any less bothersome when you are confronted with the reality of it. People will get frustrated. It won't change anything, but it happens anyway. Welcome to the human race! :)

This doesnt really apply but its funny. I used to work for an attorney whose elderly father liked to say people are no damn good but what else is there? I like to pass that on in similar circumstances because most can relate..and it lightens things up![emoji3]

 

 

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Ha ha ha ha!!! We harken back to the Peanuts gang...I think it was Lucy that said:

I love mankind. It's people I can't stand!

I must admit I have grown to hate the "I-we-they are on vacation" phrase to excuse thoughtlessness. (we actually were given this excuse by NCL crew once, when we complained about people 'staking claim' to deck chairs with towels and then not showing up for 4+ hours. For real, the crew member told us, "Well, they're on vacation, we don't want to upset them." Hello? Do we look like we work here? We're on vacation, too! *LOL*)

Everyone on the ship is on vacation (except for the cruiseline employees, of course).

A bit of noise at night isn't going to ruin my cruise, but it doesn't make it less thoughtless. It isn't so difficult to remember that the corridors along the staterooms are nothing more than hallways outside of peoples' bedrooms. As our sons teachers used to say, "Use your inside voices." This goes for human beings of all ages (as we have witnessed adults being just as noisy).

The sound of children's running feet in the corridor is not the same sweet sound as children laughing on the water slide or playing in the family pool with their parents. Now THAT'S the sweetest sound!

Ewww. Hate that. It wouldn't be so bad if you were traveling alone.....but then, neither would the Epic's bathroom set up be so bad if you were traveling alone.

Either one, with someone else, leaves a lot to be desired, IMO. *L*

The hubs and I have been married over 47 years. While we didn't like the Epic's staterooms, nor their bathroom set up, we're long past it being a huge deal.

But not everyone that sails (or shares a hotel room) are a married couple. I have traveled with my BFF before, and we would both be horrified by this hotel room!! :D

Was that the Barcelona to Tampa ta? We were on it!

There are photos of the changes done this past March in drydock. One is that Blue Lagoon is now O'Sheehans.

Yes, we were on that one, as well as the Caribbean trip right after it.

March 2017

Oooh. Cool!

My NCL PCC told me that she would be surprised if "Free Gratuities" ever comes back because they lost a lot of money on it.

That's too bad. I knew they weren't offered on their website.

Best perk ever. So, of course, that won't last. :(

That's why I was so jazzed that it was offered to our group!! If anyone wants to join our group for one of the 4 cruises, let me know. So far we still have some cabins available. All on the Star. 8-day Adriatic from Venice departing Oct. 28, 2018. 14-day Trans-Atlantic from Rome departing Nov. 5, 2018. 11-day southern Caribbean departing Miami Nov. 19, 2018, and 14-day Panama Canal transit departing Miami Nov. 30, 2018. We are getting free gratuities as one of the two perks we can choose. They also have the other perks -- UBP, the Dining Package, Internet, Shore Excursion credit. With the UBP, even that $99/week service charge is waived so it is absolutely free.

Probably should add: we aren't travel agents...just a group of fun-loving, cruise-loving folks!

I'd rather have another cruise.

Anyone been on the Jade sense it's been refurbished?

 

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I don't really know when it was refurbished, but we were on the Jade for three weeks last October/November....

We dislike the NCL drinks package since NCL charges gratuities ($99 pp for a week cruise).

That's why we normally don't choose the UBP....but with them waiving the service charge, too (on our group cruise), it made it a decent choice for us!

Free gratuities would be a no brainer! To bad they're not offering it!

We have it as an option on our group cruise! :) Made me SO HAPPY when I found out. Considering a couple of our cruises are 14-days each, it adds up to a great savings!

My husband and I have put a group cruise together (well, actually FOUR group cruises B2B2B2B, starting October 2018), and with our group, we get to choose two out of something like 5 perks. One -- and IMO the best one -- is free gratuities!

I don't think that is offered if you book privately/individually, so I just think it is a huge perk!

The second best perk (of those we get to choose from) is the UBP, with absolutely NO service charge, so absolutely 100% free.

We've never taken the UBP before because we are not big drinkers (although we enjoy a drink or two) and even having to pay the daily service charge didn't make financial sense for us. But with it being 100% free, it was the 2nd best perk for us to choose.

There were also perks like internet minutes (250 minutes, I think), but I believe we are getting 30 minutes free as Platinum cruisers, and we have never found internet to be very good on board ships.

The Shore Excursion credits aren't a good thing for us, because we usually arrange private tours for our group and have always had very good luck (and often at half the price of the cruise line's excursions). If you could just use the entire Shore Excursion credit to pay for a specific excursion completely, it might be different, but the restrictions make it not a good choice for us.

Anyone interested in more info about our group cruise and the perks, just let me know....but that's my opinion on what the best perks are and why!

I agree Kathy.

 

I've said, I'm not particularly bothered by kids running up and down the hallway (unless they are bumping into me or someone else, which happens often), but anyone that says they can't hear the loud footsteps of a 4 and 6 year old in the cabins as they run down the hall past them, I'm really sorry but they need to have their hearing checked.

I had the exact same thought.

Especially when they say they CAN hear adult footfalls, when the adults are simply walking past....

I must admit I don't remember ever being disturbed by young children running in corridors (I don't have children). I have been disturbed plenty of times by drunk adults screaming, shouting arguing in the corridors. The worst time and most frightening was someone drunk kicking and banging on our door demanding to be let in (they thought it was their room). Called reception and security came and took them away. I don't know what happened to them.

 

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Although, as mentioned earlier, we do try to choose cruises where there will be fewer children, I agree that obnoxious drunk adults of any age are far more irritating than most children.

Fortunately, as we do find the times and itineraries that we choose to have an older demographic, MOST of the drinkers seem to simply get sleepy. :D

Well, I hope it isn't actually ESSENTIAL....seeing as how we are booked in an inside cabin for our Panama Canal transit in 2018....*L*

Also, lots of seniors forget what it was like to have small children. I have seen many more rude seniors that misbehaving children in my travels.

My husband and I have not forgotten what it was like to have small children. What we didn't know when they were small and we were young (and other young adults do not realize, either), is exactly what it is like when you are older! Parenting, even when you are young, is exhausting. When you are old, just watching kids can be exhausting! *L* Trust me, we remember....oh, God, do we remember. And as wonderful and exhausting as it was, we are grateful to have parenting behind us. We specifically choose itineraries and dates where we believe there will be few children.

We have been cruising since the early 80's. Between cruising and other traveling, our experience is diametrically opposed to yours and cancels yours out. *LOL* Even when we were traveling with our sons, children were almost always more poorly behaved than folks 60-and-over. And college-age "kids" were generally worse than everyone! *L*

That doesn't mean there aren't well-behaved children AND college-age kids, and it doesn't mean that there aren't rude seniors, or rude middle-aged folks. But in our experience, there is no way there have been "many more" rude seniors than kids.

We were Platinum on Carnival Cruise Lines about 10 years ago. We hit Platinum with Norwegian last year.

And NOW I'm finding out switching to NCL wasn't an step up???

*LOL* Just kidding.

Both lines work for me.

We try not to travel with a lot of cash. It is easy to use ATM's to get cash in the local currency.

Having said that, we usually have left with a few hundred Euros on us, when we've traveled to and cruised in Europe.

As you say, you know your family's spending habits better than anyone else, but you will want to take into consideration how much time (if any) you will spend in Barcelona before boarding, as well as what you plan to do in the ports of call. Last Fall, we had pre-booked and pre-paid private excursions in most of the European ports, so we weren't having to pay taxis or tour guides there. Things like that can make quite a difference.

What ports will your cruise call in to? Enjoy!